Michael Cohen confessed he lied to lawmakers who now want to find out if others did too

Friday 30 November, 2018

WASHINGTON — Members of the Senate and House Intelligence Committees fumed after Michael Cohen, a longtime lawyer of President Donald Trump, pleaded guilty to lying to Congress Thursday.

Some called for him to come before Congress to explain what happened. Democrats went even further, saying they expected others in Trump's orbit to fall to a similar fate.

“When you lie, it gets found out. It just does, and if you lie to Congress or if you lie to your mom, it’s gonna get found out,” Oklahoma Sen. James Lankford, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee told USA TODAY at the Capitol Thursday.

Cohen Thursday morning pleaded guilty to lying to the House and Senate Intelligence Committees about plans to build a Trump Tower in Russia. The plea was part of special counsel Robert Mueller's investigation into Russian meddling in the 2016 election.

But Congressional committees have also been separately investigating Russian interference during the election. Federal prosecutors said Cohen lied when he submitted an Aug. 28, 2017, letter to the committees. The letter said the Trump Tower project had ended by January 2016, when it had actually continued for months into the presidential campaign.

Rep. Adam Schiff, who is poised to lead the House Intelligence Committee next Congress, told reporters he wants to bring Cohen back before the committee and look into whether Russia has financial leverage over Trump.

The California Democrat said that Cohen's guilty plea also "underscores" that there could be others who lied.

"We believe other witnesses were untruthful before our committee,” Schiff told reporters. Schiff said he wants to share transcripts with Mueller, not only of Cohen’s testimony, but of other witnesses, including Trump associate Roger Stone, “who may similarly have attempted to mislead the committee.”